Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-24
THE CALIFORNIA BOOM.

What a Real Estate egsnt Has to Say of
San Diego-Oy clones, Dust, and an Over
Estim ated OHM ate.
Kansas City Journal December IS.
The following extracts from a private
letter from San Diego to a gentleman in
this city, will prove Of interest in connec-
ton with the recent and growing convic-
| ton that the great Southern California
boom was and is largely matter of pure
and simple wind:
San Diego, like most
other cities in this state, is kept up by
excitement. There are 700 real estate
agents here, and some Of them have cor
net bands of twenty pieces play
ing and parading the streets with
banners and omniouses and carriages
with fine paintings OF new town lots to be
sold at auction. Free excursions run to
the site, and in the evening there is an
auction sale with "cappers" all through
the crowd to bid and mislead the "tender-
feet" In this way they rope in many q
good man, and after he gets stucks he
makes another good "cspper." The bands
are playing nearly sll the time to draw up
crowd and sell lots. They are the great
est swindlers and liars I ever saw. You
know how hard real estate agent can lie
when he wants to sell lot. Well, there
are 200 agents here, not including
ard myself, and they can beat me lying.
| 1t is stated that the real estate agents
have done more for this town than the
Santa Fe railroad, and there is no doubt
of it.
Now as to the climate. 1t is generally
| overrsted. You know this is the rainy
season here. One needs an overcoat
morning and evening, and then one is
quite liable to take cold. There are
hundreds coughing, quite number with
| sore tnroats, and one must be as careful
! here as in the east. The streets are very
muddy after rain, for there were ct least
| eight inches OF dust in the streets just
| before the rain. This was after we got
| here and was said to be the first rain in
niue months, or since last January. This
country is no account without irrigation.
| Wster is scarce, and nearly everyone is
| complaining OF pain in the back and various
kidney complaints, from the alkeli in the
drinking water. Sill there are 700 real
| estate agents to talk for the town and
claim that it will be all right when they
get in other water.
Nearly ell the streets are to have motor
| Der, covering space nearly as large as
London, are also ell to have motor lines,
| waterworks, street cars and electric
lghts-so say the agents.
AS for me, have got all I want of
this country. wish had taken your
| advice and not come here. but will remain
until spring now that am here. The eX-
citement will soon die out. The real es-
| tate agents are all complaining of dull
times. They can now see that they have
run the boom into the ground by forcing
prices so high that none but big moneyed
men can buy or speculate. They are all
gambling; very few buy to hold, as real
estate has been run up 1000 per cent. in
the last yesr. The old timers call pur-
chasers suckers who will invest now.
Lots of them are sho wing the white
feathers and are getting weak kneed.
The country back of San Diego is
mountainous and "no good" The range
cattle are the poorest ever saw.
I was down to the landing the other
day and saw one of the largest steamers
that enters the port, the Queen of the
Pacific, discharging her freight. 1t WAS
all something for US to live on for there
is not one thousandth part of what the
town consumes produced here. In fact
the surrounding country is very rough
and wherever little level spot can be
found there Is sure to be town laid out
and band playing to let people know Of
the new discovery.
London is nowhere in comparison to
this place, to hear the agents talk. Land
is selling at from 500 to $1,000 per foot
near this alkai watered town, and water
scarce at that. am sure that at. these
prices one cannot realize one-half Of l
per cent. on the investment. People may
live on climate for year or SO. but like
everything else it gets monotonous, and
they will be clad to seek some place |
where there is more tillable soil and |
where one can produce more to the acre |
without qusrrellng with his neighbor |
about water to irrigate his crops and |
Wa ding in the mud in his little garden |
spot. have seen them roll up their pants |
aBove their knees and wade in the fields |
OF glud and water trying to food their |
barley and wheat crops and then have |
cramps and rheumatic pains for week
afterwards. Give me Kansas with sill it's
drawbacks in preference to this country |
at the prices asked for land.
Now let me say right here that il any Of
my friends contemplate coming out here
that, unless they have sold nine or
have made sudden raise in Kansas City
resl estate, they had better stay where
they are.
The additions to Los Angeles are more
than ten miles square, with fve-acre lots
for ten miles more and ten-ecre lots Tor
fifty more. To s,y that the people are
wild is putting it very mildly. As a
friend remarked, they are simply crazy
and are easily deceived ct this time
of year. In lesvirg the snowy
region and coming here, finding every
thing green and the flowers in bio IN, the
grass in the foothills up as in spring in
he east and CT abundance Of wild fow-